Back Clinic Auto Accident Injuries Chiropractic and Physical Therapy Team. Many automobile accidents occur throughout the world every year, affecting a wide number of individuals, both physically and mentally. From neck and back pain to bone fractures and whiplash, auto accident injuries and their associated symptoms can challenge the daily lives of those who experienced unexpected circumstances.
Dr. Alex Jimenez’s collection of articles discusses auto injuries caused by trauma, including which specific symptoms affect the body and the particular treatment options available for each injury or condition resulting from an auto accident. Being involved in a motor vehicle accident can not only lead to injuries but they can be full of confusion and frustrations.
It is very important to have a qualified provider specializing in these matters completely assess the circumstances surrounding any injury. For more information, please feel free to contact us at (915) 850-0900 or text to call Dr. Jimenez personally at (915) 540-8444.
Whiplash, although not technically a medical term, can manifest painful symptoms, usually as a result of neck damage or injury. We call it whiplash because, in an injury, your neck actually can whip back and forth�first backward (hyperextension) and then forward (hyperflexion). Doctors call whiplash a neck sprain or strain. Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues of upper back and your neck occurring when ligaments and your muscles get overstretched from the force of a collision.
What are the Causes of Whiplash?
The most common reason for whiplash is car accidents. Nevertheless, you can even get whiplash from a fall or a sports injury. It is also possible to get whiplash when you’re punched or shaken.
Non-Surgical Treatment for Whiplash
Time is among the greatest non surgical treatment choices for whiplash. Most cases of whiplash heal by themselves to a couple months in several weeks. Your physician may also suggest: wearing a cervical collar, cervical traction, chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy, and pain medicine, as you heal.
Is Surgery Necessary for Whiplash
Patients with whiplash very, very rarely need surgery. If, nevertheless, you’ve been through wide-ranging non-surgical treatments and also you still have pain, you might consider operation. There are several types of operation used for whiplash
Corpectomy: Sometimes whiplash induces the spinal canal to narrow because of how a soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and bones moved during the initial injury. By removing part of the vertebra and the intervertebral disc using a corpectomy, the surgeon is striving to make more room.
Discectomy: The surgeon will remove section of the intervertebral disc, which may be pressing on your own spinal cord or alternative nerves and causing pain. Sometimes, the surgeon will have to execute a spinal fusion at exactly the same time as the discectomy. The fusion plans to permanently stabilize that region of your back, but not everyone who has a discectomy will desire a fusion.
Foraminotomy: As with a corpectomy, a surgeon uses a foraminotomy to make more room for your own nerves that’ll have gotten compressed and pinched throughout the harm. In this process, the foramina (the area where the nerve roots leave the spinal canal) is removed to boost the size of the nerve pathway.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
When you get whiplash, you’ll understand what caused it. But you may not sense the indications of it until later. Symptoms can appear as soon following your auto accident or other injury as two hours, but you may experience symptoms that begin slightly and gradually become worse. Symptoms can sometimes grow days, weeks, or even months after the first injury.
The primary symptom of whiplash is neck or upper back pain. It’s also possible to experience other symptoms, like:
Shoulder and arm pain
Tenderness or stiffness
Numbness and/or tingling
Headaches
Dizziness
Nausea
Blurry vision
Most just described, whiplash is caused by a movement or force that makes your neck move beyond its normal range of motion. Cervical spine, or your neck, has an incredible range of movement. It is the moveable part of your spine, but still, the neck to go beyond its normal range can be caused by whiplash.
What Causes Whiplash Associated Diseases?
There is one major cause of whiplash that most everyone thinks of instantly: car accidents. Even rates as low as 15 miles per hour can create enough energy to cause whiplash�whether or not you’re wearing a seatbelt. (Nevertheless, if you’re not properly held along with your seatbelt, your head may strike the steering wheel or windshield, causing a concussion in addition to whiplash. You should definitely always wear your seatbelt.)
A 8 miles per hour car crash generates two times the force of gravity (or a 2-G) deceleration of the car, and a 5-G deceleration of the head. This unnatural and forceful movement impacts the muscles and ligaments in the neck, stretching and possibly ripping them. The discs involving the vertebrae can bulge, tear, or rupture, and vertebrae can be forced from their normal location, lowering your range of movement. The spinal cord and nerve roots could get extended, irritated, and “choked.”
Athletic actions, falls, roller coasters can also causes whiplash, or from shaken or being punched.
Aging also makes us more susceptible to whiplash. People who have neck issues like arthritis, and mature individuals, may experience whiplash that is more serious than the usual younger man. As people get older, their movement is more limited, their muscles lose flexibility and strength, and their disks and ligaments aren’t elastic (stretchy). Thus, when their neck whips back and forth, it’s more potential for damage.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Say “whiplash” and most of us immediately think about car accident. You are rear ended as you sit at a stop sign, and your head flies forwards, then backwards. It certainly does whip back and forth, so even though “whiplash” isn’t technically a medical term, it is a quite precise description of what occurs�and what can cause so much pain.
Doctors call whiplash a neck sprain or strain. Other technical medical terms related to whiplash are hyperflexion and hyperextension. When your neck whips back hyperextension is; hyperflexion is when it goes forwards.
What is Whiplash?
Every year, almost 2 million Americans are injured and suffer from whiplash. Plenty of those injuries do come from automobile accidents, but you will find different methods for getting whiplash. You can get whiplash from:
A sports injury
A fall
Being hit or shaken
Whiplash can take days, weeks, and even months to develop. You may think that you simply are all right after having fall, a car accident, or alternative first injury. Nevertheless, slowly, the typical symptoms (neck pain and stiffness, tightness in the shoulders, etc�you will find out more about the symptoms in this article) may grow.
Thus�even should you not have pain immediately following a neck injury, you should make an appointment to see your doctor. Whiplash may have long term effects on your spinal health, and in the long term, it could be associated with other spinal conditions like osteoarthritis (bone and joint pain) and premature disk degeneration (faster aging of the back).
Your neck is one of your most vulnerable places, when your body is involved in trauma. Whiplash, the hard and fast forward-backward motion of the neck, can cause pain that could last well after other injuries have healed. It helps you to be aware of the anatomy included to understand your neck is so sore.
Anatomy of the Cervical Spine
As the physician attempts to figure out just which portions of the spinal column have been affected, whiplash could be a complex investigation. And there are a lot of complex parts to your own cervical back�the specialized name for the neck. The cervical spine begins in the base of the skull. It contains seven small vertebrae (bones), which doctors tag C1 to C7 (the ‘C’ means cervical). The numbers 1 to 7 suggest the amount of the vertebrae. C1 is closest to the skull, while C7 is closest to the torso.
In between each vertebra are rough fibrous shock-absorbing pads called the intervertebral discs. Each disc is composed of a tire-like a gel and outer band -like interior substance. The outer band is called the annulus fibrosus; the interior part is known as the nucleus pulposus.
In addition to bones and disks, your cervical spine additionally contains the upper region of the spinal cord, eight nerve roots, an elaborate system of veins and arteries, 32 muscles for strength, and numerous ligaments. For this kind of tiny area, there is certainly a whole lot to your own neck. Meaning that there are a lot of parts that can be injured when you have whiplash.
Strength, Flexibiity and Mobility of the Neck
Remarkably, the cervical spine supports the entire weight of your head, which will be generally about 8 pounds� yet no other area of the spinal column has such freedom of movement. The cervical spine can move 180� of side to side movement: 90� of forward motion, 90� of backward movement, your face in virtually every direction, and virtually 120� of tilt to either shoulder.
Unfortunately, this flexibility makes the neck very prone to injury and pain, including whiplash. Those 15 pounds are drastically chucked frontwards afterward back� that’s one important reason to wear seatbelts correctly and use airbags whenever feasible.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Whiplash is a common injury, affecting about 2 million individuals in the United States annually. Ordinarily a consequence of an automobile accident, whiplash may also result from falling, participating in sports, or from other causes, including being shaken or hit.
Whiplash is the common term for a neck sprain or strain resulting from hyperextension (see picture below) and hyperflexion (see image below). It often doesn’t cause symptoms that are immediate: in fact, it could grow over time. Since whiplash may cause long lasting effects on the spinal column, it is essential to determine your doctor for those who have been injured, even in the event you don�t have pain immediately later.
The cervical spine (neck) is a complex structure composed of vertebrae (spinal bones), intervertebral discs (act as shock absorbers), muscles, ligaments, and nerves. The neck is is flexible and may transfer it different ways (nod, rotate) while supporting the entire weight of the head. However, that flexibility can make the neck exposed to injury. Within a whiplash event, your neck goes quickly and powerfully forward and backward. Pain can continue even following the injury itself has recovered.
Whiplash can lead to possibly high medical expenses, reduced productivity, and temporary impairment.
Symptoms of Whiplash
The primary complaint of a person who has whiplash is neck and upper back pain. Other symptoms may include:
Tenderness
Stiffness
Pain in the arm and shoulder that may radiate down into the hand(s).
Paresthesias (like numbness or tingling) and weakness that will extend into the hand(s).
Headache
You might even experience dizziness, nausea, ringing in the ears, fatigue, jaw pain, or blurred vision.
Causes of Whiplash
The most common reason for whiplash is an automobile accident when the man�s vehicle (typically stopped) is rear-ended by another car or truck. As a consequence of the impact, the cervical back�s lower vertebrae of the neck are forced into a position that is hyperextended, while the upper vertebrae are bend, resulting in an unusual S shaped curve. This chain of events often damages the soft tissues (ligaments, tendons, muscles) of the neck.
Understanding Whiplash
Your doctor carefully reviews your medical history and performs a physical and neurological examination. Since xrays don�t reveal injuries to soft tissues, a CT (computerized tomography) scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may be performed.
What are the Treatments for Whiplash?
Treatment depends upon degree and the severity of the whiplash, and thought is provided to general health and your age. Initial treatment may include:
Short-term rest (a day or two)
Ice, for two* or the very first day; then alternative heat and ice
Gentle range-of-motion exercises
Anti inflammatory medications (over the counter or prescription)
Muscle relaxants
*When using ice, make sure that the cold source is wrapped in a towel to protect the skin place. Don’t apply ice.
If your pain does not go away within a fair period of time, or when it is serious, your physician may recommend trigger point injections, physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and/or use of a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device.
Soft collars, although once widely used for whiplash, are not used so frequently since the muscles can be weakened by immobilizing the neck to get a long time and delay healing.
Operation is seldom warranted by whiplash. If your pain persists even once you have gotten nonsurgical treatment, surgery may be recommended by your healthcare provider, depending on how severe the harm is and what constructions have been injured. It’s important to understand that risks are consistently carried by surgery. Therefore, you need to truly have a comprehensive talk with your doctor.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Chiropractor, Dr. Alexander Jimenez gives insights into the most common questions about whiplash.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash, although not technically a medical term, can be quite painful and is quite serious. We call it whiplash because, within an accident, your neck actually can whip back and forth�first backward (hyperextension) and then forwards (hyperflexion). Doctors call whiplash a neck sprain or strain. Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues of your neck and upper back that occurs when ligaments and your muscles get overstretched in the strength of an accident.
What Causes Whiplash?
The most common source of whiplash is car accidents. Nonetheless, you can even get whiplash from a sports injury or a fall. It’s also possible to get whiplash when you are hit or shaken.
What Are Some Non-Surgical Ways To Take Care Of Whiplash?
Time is just one of the greatest non surgical treatment options for whiplash. Most instances of whiplash recover by themselves to some months in several weeks. Your doctor may also indicate: wearing a cervical collar, cervical traction, chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy, and pain drugs as you heal.
Will I Need Surgery?
Patients with whiplash quite, very rarely need surgery. If, nevertheless, you’ve been through wide-ranging non-operative treatments and also you have pain, surgery may be considered by you. There are several kinds of surgery useful for whiplash
Corpectomy:
Sometimes whiplash induces the spinal canal to narrow because of how a soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and bones moved throughout the first injury. By removing area of the vertebra and the intervertebral disc using a corpectomy, the surgeon is wanting to make more room in your spinal canal.
Discectomy:
The surgeon will remove section of the intervertebral disc, which may be pressing on your own spinal cord or alternative nerves and causing pain. Sometimes, the surgeon will have to do a spinal fusion at the same time as the discectomy. The fusion plans to permanently stabilize that region of your spine, although not everyone who has a discectomy will need a fusion.
Foraminotomy:
As with a corpectomy, a surgeon uses a foraminotomy to make more room for your nerves that could have gotten pinched and compressed throughout the harm. In this process, the foramina (the place where the nerve roots leave the spinal canal) is removed to boost the size of the nerve pathway.
Cycling is on the rise. Bike shares�are popping up in cities across the country. An increasing number of workers are commuting�on two wheels. And�more folks are pedaling for fresh air and fitness. The number one concern among all of them? Traffic�specifically staying safe when navigating streets busy with cars.
The good news is that a few bits of bike safety knowledge go a long way in keeping you out of harm�s way. Here�s how to avoid common causes of car-bike collisions.
Bike & Rider Visible
When a driver hits a cyclist, the first words out of his mouths are inevitably, �I didn�t see her!� Though the onus is on drivers�to be aware of their surroundings, you can take a few easy steps to make them aware that you�re there. This is especially important in low-light conditions, when accidents are most common. Stats show serious accidents happen most often between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Get daytime running lights. The latest trend in cycling is to run daytime running lights�white in the front and red in the rear�just like motorcycles and many cars. Portable, rechargeable lights like Bontrager�s Ion 100 are intense enough that cars can see you from nearly a quarter mile away.�They also have a flashing mode, which gets the attention of distracted drivers. One study found that the incidence rate of bicycle accidents with personal injury to the rider was 19%�lower for riders using permanent running lights.�Well worth the 40 bucks they cost!
Wear reflective clothing.�It�s easy to blend in with the surroundings when you�re pedaling a skinny bike along the roadside. Create a contrast by wearing �hi-viz� clothing or accent pieces like vests, a helmet, and gloves that make you easier to see. Research shows it can lower your risk of run-ins with cars by 40%. When the light is dim, wear cycling-specific reflective accessories.
Be Predictable
Follow the rules of the road. Flow with (never against) traffic. Obey street signs, traffic signals, and road markings. Hold a straight line as much as possible (obviously skirting around obstacles like potholes and storm grates) and avoid weaving in and out of parked cars. Signal your intentions to turn�simply put your arm out and point�so cars know which direction you�re going.
Mind The Intersections
The majority of accidents happen in intersections. The most common scenario is a car turning right turns into you without seeing you. Other common scenarios include an oncoming car turns left into you as you�re going straight. Or a car simply pulls out into the intersection directly in front or into you. To avoid these, you can do the following:
Ride further left. Riders often hug the edge of the road as far right as possible. But in traffic, especially when you�re moving about the same rate of speed as the cars, it�s safer to move into the lane where you are fully visible. Riding in the lane is also smart when the road is simply too narrow for cars to pass you at a safe distance.
Stay out of the blind spot. When coming to a stop at a traffic light or stop sign, avoid stopping right next to the car to your left. The driver�can�t see you and may turn right into you. Stop behind the car�so you can see its blinkers. If the driver fails to use her blinkers, you’ll also be able to see the car turning before it turns into you.
Be cautious passing on the right. When you�re riding to the right of traffic, especially if you�re in a bike lane, you will likely find yourself occasionally passing cars on the right hand side, especially when traffic is slow. It�s best to avoid passing on the right. But if you do, be vigilant and keep your eye out for intersections, driveways, parking lots, and other places cars may be turning right (or crossing traffic and making a left from the opposite direction), so a driver doesn’t�inadvertently turn right into or in front of you.
Make eye contact. When at an intersection with cars coming in from either side, make eye contact with the drivers to be sure they see you before pulling into the intersection. If they don�t appear to see you, wave an arm to get their attention. (Lights help a lot here, too.)
Check our our sister site: Biking Experts to learn more…
Give Yourself A Door Buffer
When riding past parked cars on your right, give yourself ample space to avoid being �doored� by someone opening their car door into traffic. It helps to keep an eye on side view mirrors, as well, since you can see cars that are occupied, where someone may step out without looking.
For the second straight year, U.S. pedestrian deaths are setting alarming new records. The number of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads rose a projected 11 percent between 2015 and 2016, the largest year-to-year increase on record, according to a new Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report.
During the first six months of 2016, preliminary data show 2,660 pedestrian deaths nationwide, compared to 2,486 for the same period during 2015. The year-long projection is based on those numbers. The report also projects a 22 percent rise in pedestrian deaths from 2014. Both estimates are sharply higher than the 9 percent increase in pedestrian deaths between 2014 and 2015.
“This is the second year in a row that we have seen unprecedented increases in pedestrian fatalities, which is both sad and alarming,” said report author Richard Retting, who’s with Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants.
“It is critical that the highway safety community understand these disturbing statistics and work to aggressively implement effective countermeasures,” he added in a GHSA news release.
Pedestrian Risks and Automobile Accidents
Pedestrians account for about 15 percent of U.S. road deaths. In the first six months of 2016, the number of pedestrian deaths rose in 34 states, fell in 15 states and in the District of Columbia, and remained the same in one state. The report cited several possible reasons for the spike. They include Americans driving more due to lower gas prices; more people choosing to walk for health, transportation, economic or environmental reasons; and widespread use of smartphones, a distraction for walkers and drivers alike.
“Everyone walks, and we want to encourage that, but at the same time we want to make sure that we all get to our destinations safely,” GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins said.
“Unfortunately, this latest data shows that the U.S. is not meeting the mark on keeping pedestrians safe on our roadways. Every one of these lives represents a loved one not coming home tonight, which is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
One doctors’ group added that prevention — keeping your eyes and ears on your surroundings — is key.
“Today’s projected pedestrian fatalities — the highest ever recorded — are an urgent wake-up call that we need to work harder at consistently focusing on where and how we are walking,” said Dr. Alan Hilibrand. He’s a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
“Pedestrians need to be mindful of their surroundings,” while walking, Hilibrand said. “Walking while looking at your phone or an electronic device can result in sprains, broken bones, and other serious, even fatal, injuries.”
SOURCES: Governors Highway Safety Association, news release, March 30, 2017; March 30, 2017, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Brain injuries are common complications in our modern world. Approximately 2 million individuals experience a head injury in the United States alone each year. Although most brain or head injuries are not considered life threatening, they could sum up to billions of dollars in annual revenue. Brain injuries are often categorized according to patient response. Only 1 out of 4 reported brain injuries are considered moderate or severe.
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What Causes Whiplash?
